Trade unions, civil society and environmental groups can fill the gap created as governments become “democratically redundant”, an industrial relations expert believes.
Gerard Kester was speaking to the Times of Malta ahead of a public talk organised by the Centre for Labour Studies at the University of Malta. The 80-year-old Dutch academic, the main speaker at the event, believes the main challenge of the 21st century is to build “a vibrant Europe”.
According to Prof. Kester this may only be achieved by creating more appropriate European political institutions, turning migration into a catalyst for building a true multicultural society, putting an end to “western arrogance” and developing a democracy that can control the economy.
In his analysis, the rise of huge multi-national companies has somehow weakened if not distorted democracy.
“What influence do governments have on what big multinational companies like Shell and Google do, which, in turn, have a strong influence on the economy in general?” he asked.
“Furthermore, their finances are regulated at international level and, hence, governments have little control,” he adds.
Prof. Kester thinks that the silver lining in such scenario is that trade unions can revive their fortunes by joining forces with civil society and environmental groups to take a prominent role in the media in their quest for more transparency.
“Governments failed in this respect, as highlighted by the Panama Papers revelations. The latter only came to light thanks to journalists,” he says.
Having visited Malta 32 times either for research work or to give lectures, Prof. Kester is well acquainted with the local industrial relations environment.
He recalls that his first visit was back to 1971, a few weeks before the general election won by Dom Mintoff.
The changes experienced in Malta were largely identical to those in the rest of Europe, especially after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, he points out.
“Socialist parties have lost their teeth. They have become very moderate and, in countries like mine, are forming coalitions with the conservatives. In the eyes of the workers they are betraying them,” he said.
Again, Prof. Kester argues such a “gap” can be filled by trade unions, which, in his words, have a lot of leverage at international level through the International Labour Organisation. On the other hand, he warns that unions need to reinvent themselves or else face extinction.
“Fragmentation of the workforce is very bad for unions, and this is happening all over Europe including Malta where membership is in decline,” he notes.
“While safeguarding workers’ rights, unions need to widen their remit beyond collective bargaining to policymaking to in-crease their sphere of influence among decision makers,” Prof. Kester suggests.